Ask.com In Google’s Grill With AskEraser

By Andy Beal on December 11, 2007

Ask.com In Google’s Grill With AskEraser

I’m not sure what is more impressive. Ask.com’s official launch of its privacy protection called AskEraser, or all of the press coverage the company is getting from the announcement.

I’ll get to the details of AskEraser in a moment, but take a look at your RSS feeds, favorite online news source, or even your newspaper, and you’ll see mention of Ask.com’s efforts to protect user privacy. What a piece of PR genius by Ask!

Privacy and security have been hot topics in the world of search engines this year, and Ask has not only launched the first tool to address concerns, but it’s made the announcement on a day when there’s little news from Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo. The end result? Everyone is seeing: Privacy + Search = Ask.com.

OK, so on to the actual announcement for AskEraser.

When enabled by the user, AskEraser completely deletes all future search queries and associated cookie information from Ask.com servers, including IP address, User ID, Session ID, and the complete text of their queries.

An AskEraser link is featured prominently in the upper right corner of the Ask.com homepage and search results pages – clearly and constantly indicating to the user that their search activity will be ‘erased’ from Ask.com servers. AskEraser remains ‘on’ for searches conducted across Ask.com’s major search verticals: Web, Images, AskCity, News, Blogs, Video, and Maps & Directions – and can be turned ‘on’ or ‘off’ by the user at anytime.

Hype aside, there’s really not that much to celebrate here. Agreed, it’s great that a search engine is giving us the option to completely nuke all of our personal data, but what difference does that make when the search engine in question has less than 5% market share? Not a lot, except when you consider the noise Ask is making with this announcement. With the attention Ask is getting today, you can bet that mainstream media–and perhaps search users–are quickly asking, “If Ask.com can do this, why can’t Google?”

And that’s pretty much the big deal with today’s announcement. While Ask may pick up 1/8 of a point of market share, its real victory will come from being the company that re-started the discussions on privacy protection. You may not end up using AskEraser, but you might want to add Ask’s CEO Jim Lanzone to your Christmas card list. After all, he might just have given us a great present this year–and with the gift receipt, we might get the chance to exchange AskEraser for something similar from Google.

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10 comments on “Ask.com In Google’s Grill With AskEraser”

Allen Taylor Says:

December 11th, 2007 at 10:48 am

Yes, and there’s another reason this isn’t such great news. In order to use MyStuff you have to turn AskEraser off, which brings up an important personal security question. What if I save a website to MyStuff? Will the query performed to find that website be erased when I turn AskEraser back on? It seems I have a choice: I can have privacy or I can have bookmarks, but I can’t have both.
Andy Beal Says:

December 11th, 2007 at 10:49 am

@Allen – good point.
SEO Specialist - Terry Reeves Says:

December 11th, 2007 at 11:43 am

I think Ask has what it takes to compete and win over Yahoo and MSN, or at least provide the ideas for them to follow. I like Ask and see where the average surfer might like Ask as well. With time and enough ad spend, they have the potential to eat away at Google over the long haul.

The problem for Ask is that Google has more money and will dominate the airwaves if it looks like Ask is becoming more than a last place finisher.
Dean Says:

December 11th, 2007 at 4:54 pm

This is great news for porn surfers, child predators, and closet fans of the NSYNC! Am I missing something or has Ask.com just become the destination search engine for anyone looking for nefarious content? Brilliant move Ask.com!
Steven Bradley Says:

December 12th, 2007 at 12:08 am

Dean why do you think only people looking for nefarious content prefer not to be tracked?

Hasn’t most everyone been getting on the search engines lately for following us around the web a little more than we’d like? Ask’s system may not be perfect, but now people who use Ask at least have a choice. That’s more than you can say for 3 other search engines we all know.
Zen Says:

December 12th, 2007 at 6:34 am

“If Ask.com can do this, why can’t Google?”

I was thinking the same thing… I bet it’s just a matter of time.
Jason Says:

December 12th, 2007 at 6:46 am

Umm… Google has this option. Pretty simple too. Click on Web History, Click on Pause.

Your web history has been paused.
This service will not collect any history until you choose to resume. Resume. Learn more.This service will not collect any history until you choose to resume. Resume. Learn more.

Sounds like the same thing to me. Ohh and you can delete anything you want. Just because Google doesn’t brag about the service doesn’t mean it isn’t there. They just considered it natural to have. And didn’t need a press release.
Jason Says:

December 12th, 2007 at 7:04 am

Forgot to mention though. All the features that make search great require personalization, so without letting them keep track of everything you search for they can’t provide you personalized results. And ohh… yeah… the simple fix? Don’t log in.
Ask.com Unveils AskEraser - BlackHatCrew - Elite Webmaster SEO Forum Says:

December 14th, 2007 at 3:30 pm

[...] receipt, we might get the chance to exchange AskEraser for something similar from Google. source: Ask.com In Google’s Grill With AskEraser __________________ My Ratios :: My [...]
money news blog » Linky Goodness, December 12 Says:

December 16th, 2007 at 6:14 pm

[...] Of all the criticisms of AskEraser, this is the assessment to which I have to give the most resounding, “DUH.” AskEraser [...]

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